At Costhetics HQ, ‘tis the season to be resolved: resolved to be a kinder person, resolved to clean out the garage, and (for many of us) resolved to change our diets for the better.
This last resolution is one we really get behind, particularly from a health and beauty perspective. We’ve scoured the world to bring you the latest news and information about how you can keep the New Year’s resolution we all share: to look and feel healthy and beautiful well into 2023.
Nutrigenomics: A New Word for Your Beauty Dictionary
Personalisation continues to be one of the buzziest words of 21st century aesthetics, especially when it comes to nutrition. Soon to join it will be the word nutrigenomics. “Nutrigenomics is a way to zoom in on what will help you reach your goals based on what we know about your genes and how they interact with the food you eat,” reports the Cleveland Clinic in their article How Nutrigenomics May Impact the Way You Eat.
Astonishing advancements in products and technology and especially artificial intelligence give people the information they need to create more detailed treatment plans than ever before. “Skin nutrigenomics science shows that personalised nutrition produces better results than a generalised approach,” the Research Chair in Nutrigenomics at the University of Toronto tells The Aesthetic Guide.
Nutrition is essential for limiting inflammatory responses that affect skin quality and ageing. Combatting inflammation can also improve the results of treatments and procedures. The inclusion of nutrition and supplementation guidance, personalised to meet people’s unique aesthetic status, is proving to be invaluable in activating the body’s natural anti-ageing defences to help keep us looking younger longer.
What to Eat and Drink for Healthy Skin in 2023
After a season of eating, drinking, and merry making, many of us find ourselves saddled with a few extra kilos and surprisingly, a few extra wrinkles. Some of those wrinkles will disappear naturally as we get back to our normal sleep schedules, but others will linger. The reason? It may be something you ate.
In 2019, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology published the article, “A healthy diet in women is associated with less facial wrinkles, in a large Dutch population-based cohort.” Since then, the realisation that dietary habits affect skin wrinkling has led to more study and more good news. Many of the foods and beverages you already enjoy can help keep your skin smooth and glowing.
3 Beverages Your Skin Craves
Costhetics was simply amazed to learn that simply drinking more of the right beverages can improve skin texture, tone, and more. When you need to grab a gulp, ditch the sugary sodas and processed juices, and instead go for:
- Water – Skin cells are comprised of as much as 64% water, so it should come as no surprise that water is perhaps the most important thing you can consume for skin health and beauty. When the outermost layer of the epidermis is well-hydrated, it has superior elasticity and is soft to the touch.
- Coffee – Surprised to see coffee on the list? We were too, until we discovered that its high water content makes it a hydrating beverage, despite the fact that it is a diuretic. Beyond that, coffee contains polyphenols, which have been shown to improve skin texture and reduce hyperpigmentation.
- Green Tea – Non-coffee drinkers can sip green tea to hydrate skin. Along with keeping skin hydrated, green tea has been shown to improve skin elasticity and reduce roughness and scaling.
5 Nom Noms that Make Skin Say Yum Yum
You may not realise this, but a visit to the fresh produce aisle or farmers market is almost like a visit to the health spa. Whichever way you turn, you’re face-to-face with delicious ways to improve the health of your skin. Plant-based foods contain nutrients such as polyphenols, carotenoids, and select vitamins, typically missing from items in other food categories. They can provide an array of bioactive compounds that working either alone or together may afford protection for the skin.
Here are some of Costhetics staff picks:
- Edamame – The role of plant-based foods for good health, in general, and skin health in particular, is getting lots of attention these days. Soybeans, tofu, and edamame are prized for their nutritional value and have been shown to decrease the appearance of fine wrinkles, increase skin hydration, and improve elasticity.
- Almonds – Just a small serving of protein-rich almonds will give you 25% of your day’s riboflavin and 6% of your day’s niacin. That’s healthy. Almonds are also a good source of linoleic acid which helps to prevent skin dryness, as well as copper, which can impact skin pigmentation. At just under 60 calories per 10 grams they’re a great grab-and-go skin treatment.
- Kiwifruit – You can support skin health and the good folks of New Zealand by including more kiwifruit in your diet. These sweet little handfuls are loaded with Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant useful in stimulating collagen production.
- Pomegranates – They may be tough to get at, but cheerful red pomegranate seeds are rich in polyphenols. Polyphenols work with your body to reduce inflammation, protect you from the sun, and maintain the structural integrity of your skin.
- Mangoes – Sweet, sloppy mangoes are dripping with more than juice. Mango has over a dozen different types of polyphenols, including mangiferin. It is a super-hero at preventing free radical damage to the skin. Note to dieters: one mango may contain as many as 46 grams of sugar, so save them for treat time.
DNA Testing
Your nutrigenomic profile can be determined through DNA testing. A simple mouth swab can be sent to a lab which can analyse it for more than 70 different genes. The results can be used to develop a health and beauty nutrition program based on key factors including your:
- Genetic status
- Phenotypic status (observable characteristics related to genetics)
- Nutritional status
- Medical status
- Lifestyle choices
Costhetics knows there’s no one like you, and now you understand why a one-size-fits-all approach to skin ageing may not be a good fit for you. A personalised nutrition approach to skin beauty allows skin therapists to drill down on what works best for patients rather than using a trial-and-error approach.